This is a multi-purpose post about the Sad Puppies (et al) Hugo Nominations and award slates, covering the following topics: Schools of thought on voting No Award. Responding to the belief that there already had been slates in the past from “the SJWs” and explaining what’s likely a good chunk of the difference in nomination […]

I thought I’d show, in chart form, what the year-over-year changes are in Hugo Awards nominations, substantially due to the sad puppies (and rabid puppies) voting. This year, there were almost exactly 10% more Hugo nominations than last year. Last year, there was also a (substantially less successful) sad puppies slate. The area charts are […]

For those who don’t know, a “filk” song is a science fiction/fantasy folk genre, generally adding new lyrics to an existing tune. Though many filk writers also write original tunes, as I pay tribute to in this post. The rest of this post is written by my husband, Rick Moen. People who’ve been on SMOFS […]

Update: Includes changes announced after initial nominations were announced. The only puppy-free slate changes are in the Best Novel and Best Novelette category. Ineligibility changes at File 770. Withdrawal changes at File 770. Update 2: I’ve added those who withdrew after the final ballot into their respective categories below (because some people will be ranking […]

I was talking with Crystal Huff about getting to Helsinki, and I volunteered to put together a list of how to get to Finland for the Helsinki in 2017 Worldcon bid. After I sat down and got started, I thought it would be interesting to put the list together in a non-US-centric way, so I […]

First, congratulations to all the winners! Wow, what a rush. None of my four outlier recommendations made the ballot. Except one of them won in a different category, and I could just do jumping jacks about that. Campbell Award I’m entirely unsurprised that Sofia Samatar won the Campbell Award for Best New Writer. I remember […]

We arrived in London on Wednesday afternoon, and our shared ride to the Aloft hotel took 2-1/2 hours due to road closures in central London for an event. It’s our first stay at an Aloft hotel, which is trendy and hipsterish without being too much so. The convention rate makes it affordable for a London […]

I’ve been meaning to post this for a while. In light of my changing feelings over the Hachette/Amazon battle and reminders of same like this Salon piece, I’m changing the reading order for this year’s Best Novel Hugo nominees, putting the Hachette authors first. Because I support Hachette in their game of chicken against Amazon. […]

The Hugo Awards site has the full nomination list. Look, I don’t vote in every category every time. I will be voting in a category I haven’t voted in before, though. Natalie has some commentary (and quite a few comments) over on her site. Me? I vote for the work, not the person, but there […]

Best related work: Fic by Anne Jamison, a history of fanfiction. Best fan artist: Randall Munroe. Last cartoon of the year is 1311 and first of 2013 was 1155 (thank you @xkcdfeed). Three of note: 1158 (it’s all about physics), 1167 (Star Trek Into Darkness), 1177 (Time Robot). For those who feel he isn’t eligible, […]